Method and apparatus for hulling grain.



J. R. CHAPMAN. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HULLING GRAIN.

APPLICATION man IAN-22.1915.

11. 9 1 @fi, 1 1 Patented June 20, 1916.

61 Ho: we as T1": COLUMBIA PLANouRAPl-l c0., WASHINGTON, n. C.

JOHN B. CHAPMAN, OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HULLING GRAIN.

Specification of'Letters Patent. Patented June 20, 1916.

Application filed. January 22, 1915. Serial No. 3,780.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN R. CHAPMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Greene and State of Missouri,have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus forHulling Grain, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the treatment of grain preparatory to itsmilling and consists of a new and practical process and apparatus forremoving the dirt from the grain and loosening or removing the outerhull or cuticle of the berry.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a process for thetreatment'of grain whereby the final milled product will be lower asregards the percentage of ash, and a much higher quality of product bothas regards purity and color. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a simply-constructedpractical ma chine for accomplishing this result and one which willquickly wash and loosen the outer hull of the grain berry without lossof time in operation or care on the part of the attendant.

The invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement ofparts together with the novelmethod of operation and will be more fullydescribed and set forth in the following specification and claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a topplan view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the same machine. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the discharge end ofthe machine, showing a section through the discharge manifold. Fig. 4 isan elevation of the in take end of the machine with the drive wheelremoved, showing the supporting frame beneath the cylinder.

In the drawings like numerals refer to like parts,

1 is a longitudinal metal cylinder formed by fastening together thelower section 2 and the upper section 3. Suitable cylinder heads 4 and 5may be formed integral with the cylinder or made separately and attachedthereto. Within the cylinder approximately centrally thereof andextending around the inner surface in a vertical plane is a groove 6adapted to hold rigidly and retain a perforate plate 7 having holes 8.Extending centrally through the cylinder is a drive shaft 9 providedwith bearings 10 and 11 and drive wheel 12. Suitable thrust ballbearings 13, ring oil bearing 14: and dust cap 15 are shown.

Anintake opening 16 and steam and water inlet pipes 17 and 18,respectively, are mounted on top of the cylinder. At the opposite end adischarge opening 19 is located in the lower half of the cylinder headand is controlled by a valve 20.

Mounted on said drive shaft9 and keyed thereto is a screw conveyer 21having a sin gle spiral thread of a large pitch. Adjacent this screw 21is an agitator 22, also keyed to the drive shaft, having the arms 23 setwith a pitch and having the ends of the arms curved. On these ends areprovided rough surfaces 24 and on the inner surface of the cylinder asimilar-rough surface 25 extends from the agitator 22 to the perforateplate or diaphragm 7 Between theagitator and the plate is a short doublethreaded screw of small pitch 26. On the discharge side of the plate 7is another set of conveyer screws and agitator numbered 21 22% and 26respectively, in addition to which are the rough surfaces 24 and 25 onthe ends of the agitator arms and on the walls of the cylinder adj acentthe discharge opening.

Over the opening 19 and extending outwardly and downwardly is adischarge manifold 19 This member covers practically all of the end ofthe lower section 2 and provides a support for the valve mechanism ofthe oscillating valve 20. Referring in detail to the valve constructionit will be observed that the valve proper is an oblong plate 20' adaptedto seat against the walls of the opening 19. Extending through themanifold 19 rearwardly from the lower half of the cylinder head, are theguide rods 20 A yoke 20 connects their outer ends. From the valve plate20 and rigidly connected thereto is a valve rod 20 This rod it will beobserved is slidably mounted in the yoke 20 'and manifold 19 and carriesa spring 20 which abuts against the yoke 20 on one end and against ahand wheel tensioning device 20 on the other. The combination of partsmentioned permits a yielding action on the part of the discharge valveand allows for adjustment of the spring without interfering with theoperation of the machine. Suitable openings and covers 27 are providedfor access to the interior of the cylinder and supports 28 are shown formounting the machine.

' Grain is fed into the machine through the intake opening 16 and iscarried along by the spiral screw and thoroughly mixed with the steamand water forced in through the openings 17 and 18. The arms of theagitator assist in stirring the mass and'the rough ends aid in therubbing and churning the berries. The augerlike double screw 26 forcesthe grain through the opening 8 in the plate 7. Attention is againcalled to the fact that the pitch of'the threads of this member 26 isdecidedly less than that of the first conveyer screw. 'After passingthrough the plate 7 this same process is repeated until the grainreaches the outlet opening L9. At this point it comes into contact withthe flat surface of the stationary upper half of the cylinder head andthe metal valve plate 20and the pressure of the grain driven by theconveyer screws forces open the valve, making a reciprocating motion,causing one grain to come in contact with another and thereby looseningthe outside hull or cuticle of the berry. Attention'is directed to thefact that at the end of its treatment within the cylinder the grain isforced against the rigid upper half of the cylinder head and then outagainst the flat face of the discharge valve, a maximum scouring actionthus being obtained. This 1 particular action is caused by the operativerelation of the working parts at the discharge end of the chamber.During each revolution of the member 26, the end of each thread movespast the discharge opening and the material within the chamber iscompressed as the thread end approaches the opening and is forced out asthe'end of the thread wipes past the opening, This causes thereciprocating motion of the valve just mentioned. WVhen the machine isin operation this reciprocating motion becomes a rapid pulsatingmovement and the ma terial which was already treated with steam andwater in the first part of the chamber is forced out past tlre flat faceof the discharge valve. The treatment of the grain at this discharge endof the chamber may be described as follows: The grain, after thepreliminary treatment and softening of the hull as it passes through theagitator conveyers and perforate plate in the treating chamber, ismomentarily compressed asthe screw-thread ends travel past the dischargeopenings until suflicient pressure termed fhulling pressure is exertedto rub one grain against the other and the valve when it is forced outpast the latter. This treatment involves sufiicient pressure merely toloosen the hull of the grain and distinctly does not include any'mangling or mashing 0f the grain ic g t destroy its use fulness insubsequent manufacture or sale. After passing out of the dischargeopening the grain stands for several hours in what is known as thetempering bins after which it is put through a final process known asscouring in which the outer coat which has been loosened by the machinejust described, is taken off the grain leaving the berry perfectlyclean.

It has been found that by using the process indicated above the flourmade from the grain so treated showed a much lower percentage of ash anda product of a higher quality both as regards the cleanliness and colorof the flour.

From the foregoing it will be clear that this invention provides amachine which is simple in construction and easy to operate and aprocess of thoroughly cleaning grain preparatory to its use in othertypes of machines.

Changes in shape, material and the relative stages of the process may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention.

7 What I claim is:

1. In a machine for the treatment of grain, a normally closed treatmentchamber, means for supplying moistening and softening medium for thegrain hulls to said chamber, a perforate plate within said chamber, anda plurality of screw conveyor agitator members for conveying the grainand fluid medium within said chamber to said perforate plate, the lastof said screw conveyers being of relatively small pitch and adjacentsaid perforate plate for forcing the moistened grain therethrough.

2. In a machine for the treatment of grain, a normally closed treatmentchamber, means for supplying moistening and softoning medium for thegrain hulls to said chamber, a resiliently yieldable rcciprocat- Iteningmedium for the grain hulls to said chamber, a removable perforatediaphragm within said chamber, and a separate set of screw conveyeragitator members within said chamber on either side of said diaphragm,each of said sets consisting of a plurality of screw conveyor agitatormembers, the pitch of the blade of successive members being different,and a central drive shaft for operating said conveyor members.

4. I11 a machine for the treatment of grain, a normally closed treatmentchamber, an inlet opening and an outlet valve for said chamber, meansfor supplying moistening and softening medium for the grain hulls tosaid chamber, a removable perforate diaphragm within said chamber, and aseparate set of screw conveyer agitator members within said chamber oneither side of said diaphragm, each of said sets con sisting of aplurality of screw conveyer agitator members, the pitch of successivemembers of each set being different, the last of each set being arelatively small pitch and adjacent the perforate diaphragm and outletvalve respectively for forcing the grain through each.

5. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed treatment chamber,a perforate diaphragm extending across the interior of said chamber,means for holding said perforate diaphragm in position, a separate setof screw conveyer agitator members within said chamber on either side ofsaid diaphragm, each of said sets consisting of a plurality of screwconveyer agitator members, the pitch of the thread of each of saidmembers being different, an agitator member in each set having propellerblades with curved ends, abrading surfaces on the ends of said bladesadjacent the walls of said chamber, and a central drive shaft forrotating said conveyer and agitator members.

6. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed treatment chamber,a perforate diaphragm extending across the interior of said chamber,means for holding said perforate diaphragm in position, a separate setof screw conveyer agitator members within said chamber on either side ofsaid diaphragm, each of said sets consisting of a plurality of screwconveyer agitator members, the pitch of the thread of each of saidmembers being different, an agitator member in each set having bladeswith curved ends lengthwise of the chamber for rubbing the grain to betreated be tween the curved ends and the walls of the chamber, and acentral drive shaft for rotating' said conveyer and agitator members.

7. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed treatment chamber,means for supplying moistening and softening medium for the grain hullsto said chamber, a perforate diaphragm extending across the interior ofsaid chamber, means for holding said diaphragm in position, a separateset of screw conveyer members within said chamber on either side of saiddiaphragm, each of said sets consisting of a plurality of screw conveyermembers, the pitch of the blades of successive members being dif ferent,a central drive shaft for operating said conveyer members, and an outletreciprocating valve at the discharge end of said chamber, said valvebeing located below the line of said drive shaft with the lower edges ofthe valve substantially on a line with the lowest point of the chamberfor the dis charge of fluid and waste matter with the grain from thebottom of the chamber, the last member of each of said sets of agitatormembers having a thread of relatively small pitch and being adjacent theperforate diaphragm and outlet valve respectively for forcing the grainthrough each, the outlet valve yielding resiliently to the action of thelast-member and the material within the chamber.

8. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed. treatmentchamber, means for supplying moistening and softening medium for thegrain hulls to said chamber, a perforate diaphragm extending across theinterior of said chamber, a separate set of screw conveyer memberswithin said chamber on either side of said diaphragm, each of said setsconsisting of a plurality of screw conveyer members, the pitch of theblades of successive members being different, a central drive shaft foroperating said conveyer members, an outlet reciprocating valve at thedischarge end of said chamber, said valve being located below the lineof said drive shaft with the lower edge of the valve substantially on aline with the lowest point of said chamber for the discharge of fluidsand waste matter with the grain, a spring for normally holding saidvalve in its closed position, and adjusting means for controlling thetension of said spring, the last member of each set of agitatorconveyers having a thread of relatively small pitch and being adjacentthe perforate diaphragm and outlet valve respectively for forcing thegrain through each, said outlet valve yielding resiliently to the actionof said last member and the fluid matter within the chamber.

9. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed treatment chamber,means for supplying moistening and softening medium for the grain hullsto said chamber, a perforate diaphragm extending across the interior ofsaid chamber, a screw agitator conveyer on one side of said diaphragm toforce grain through said perforate plate, a second screw agitatorconveyer to force grain out of the discharge end of said chamber, theend wall of said chamber having a discharge opening eccentricallylocated with respect to the axis of said agitator conveyers, and a valveresiliently mounted in said opening to overbalance the screw action ofsaid second conveyer until hulling pressure is reached and to yieldoutwardly as the conveyer thread end reaches and passes saidopening,whereby the grain is subjected to a pulsating rubbing pressureto remove the softened outer portion.

10. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed treating chamber,means for supplying moistening and softening medium for the grain hullsto said chamber, a screw agitator conveyer within said chamber, the endwall of said chamber having discharge opening off center with respect tothe axis of said conveyer and a valve resihently mounted in said openingto overbalance the pressure of the gram due to the screw action of theconveyer until hulling pressure is reached and to yield outwardly as theconveyer thread end reaches and passes said opening, whereby the grainis subjected to a pulsating rubbing action to remove the softened outerportion.

11. In a machine for treating grain, a normally closed treating chamber,means for supplying moistening and softening me dium for the grain hullsto said chamber,

a screw agitator conveyer having a plural- 1ty of screw threads withinsaid chamber,

' the end wall of said chamber having a'discharge opening eceentricallylocated with respect to the aXis of said screw conveyer and opposite thepath of the thread ends thereof, and a valve resiliently mounted in saidopening to normally close the same and overbalance the pressure of thegrain due to the screw action of the conveyor threads until hullingpressure is reached and to yield outwardly as the conveyer threads JOHNR. CHAPMAN.

Witnesses:

FRANK O'r'r, LEE E. Po'r'rnn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner or ratents. Washington, I). C.

